LESSON 5

Growing Oats

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE/COMMON CORE STANDARDS ADDRESSED!

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.9-10.7 Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

WORK!

Identify the uses and types of oats. Identify areas where oats are grown. Explain the cultural practices of oat

production. Explain oat processing.

TERMS

Blasting Groat Oat Lodging Kernel Companion Top Dressing

INTEREST APPROACH View this sample of slow cook oatmeal and instant oatmeal. Compare the two samples, looking at their color and texture. Now cook the two products. Again, have the students compare

the two products. What are the differences between oat cultivars as well as other

crops?

OBJECTIVE 1

Identify the uses and types of oats.

HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?

I. Oats are a cereal crop grown for human and animal consumption.

By-products of oat production also have a number of human uses.

Oats are grouped according to the number of chromosomes and each cultivar has their own distinct differences.

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HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?

Oats are most commonly used for feeding livestock.

Livestock rely on oats as a source of protein and bulk.

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HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?

Oats used for human consumption are processed for use in oatmeal, cakes, cookies, breads, and cereals.

Only high quality oats are used for

human food.

Oat hulls, a by-product of oat production, can be

used to make plastics, paper, and resins. Solvents used in processing vegetable and mineral oils are also made from oat hulls.

HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?

3. Oats are classified according to their number of chromosomes; those with 42 chromosomes are the most prominent.

The oats in this classification include the common white oats, hull-less oats, cultivated red oats, common wild oats, and wild red oats.

There are also distinct differences between each oat cultivar.

HOW ARE OATS USED AND WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES?

Oats can be classified according to the kernel color.

The different colors include white, yellow, red, gray, and black.

Oats can be spring or winter cultivars. They may also be grouped as early,

medium, or late maturity.

WHITE YELLOW BLACKGRAY

WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?

II. The top five states in oat production are Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Oats can be grown in a variety of soils and climatic conditions but prefer cool, moist climates.

The majority of oats grown

in NM are baled for forage.

WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?

Cool weather is necessary during ripening; hot weather during blossoming can cause blasting.

Blasting is the failure of flowers to produce seed because of unfavorable conditions.

WHERE ARE OATS GROWN?

Some of the highest recorded oat yields have occurred in Canada, the northern U.S., and northern Europe where the weather is the coolest.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

III. Oats commonly rotated with other crops are used as a companion crop.

Oats can successfully follow corn, cotton, and potato crops and can be used to help establish grasses and small-seeded legumes such as alfalfa. The first cutting would be an oat alfalfa mix. Following cuttings would only be alfalfa as the oats are an annual crop.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

Oat seeds are commonly treated with fungicides before planting. Seed oats should not be used for feed purposes or human consumption.

The remaining cultural practices of oats are similar

to those of wheat.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

A. Oats can be sown with little or no seedbed preparation. Oats can be broadcast and covered by disking or sown

in a field that has been disked or field harrowed. Heavy soils or soils with weed problems should be fall

plowed and disked two to three times in the spring before planting.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

B. Soil tests should be used to help offset variances in soil types, cropping practices, and fertility levels.

Oats are capable of producing sufficient crops on low fertility soils, however, they commonly produce less return per acre.

Top dressing winter oats with nitrogen fertilizers helps improve forage production and provide earlier grazing.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

C. Winter oats can be sown from mid-September to mid-February depending on the area.

They should be sown early enough so they are well established before the first heavy frost.

Spring oats can be sown from late January to early May, again depending on the area.

Spring oats should be sown before the soil temperature averages 50°F.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

D. Oats can be sown by broadcasting or drilling. Broadcasting is quicker but requires more

seed and is not recommended on soils with limited moisture.

Drilling also provides more uniform stands. Oats should be sown 1 to 1½ inches deep in moist soils, 2–3 inches deep in drier soils.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION? Winter oats are harvested in late June and spring oats are

harvested in late July. Oats require 24 to 30 days to mature depending on the

area. It may take over a week following maturity to reach 13 to 14

percent moisture. Some producers cut and windrow oats and combine several

days later to help reduce loss due to weather, shattering, and lodging.

WHAT ARE THE CULTURAL PRACTICES OF OAT PRODUCTION?

F. Like all crops, oats are susceptible to a number of pest problems.

G. Common oat diseases include loose smut, covered smut, stem rust, crown rust, yellow dwarf, and powdery mildew.

H. Common oat insects include the chinch bug, green bug, grain bug, grasshoppers, armyworms, and leaf hoppers.

LOOSE SMUT COVERED SMUT STEM RUST YELLOW DWARF POWDERY MILDEW

CHINCH BUG GREENBUG GRAIN BUG GRASSHOPPER ARMY WORM LEAF HOPPER

HOW ARE OATS PROCESSED?

IV. Oats require processing before being consumed by humans.

Groat is the unground grain of oats. The groat is roasted, separated from the hull,

and passed between large rollers.

HOW ARE OATS PROCESSED? The rollers flatten the groat’s into rolled oats. The rolled oats, or flat oats, are what we are

accustomed to seeing in oatmeal. Following additional processing, the oats can

be used in a variety of breakfast foods, cookies, and breads.

REVIEW / SUMMARY Oats are a cereal crop grown for human and

animal consumption. The top five states in oat production are

Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Oats commonly rotated with other crops are used as a companion crop.

Oats require processing before being consumed by humans.

THE END!